Woman Embraces Rare Condition That Causes Her To Have Two Skin Tones

Taylor Muhl, a California woman, has spoken out about living with Chimerism, an extremely rare medical condition that, in Taylor’s words, “Basically, it means I am my own twin.” The condition is named after the Chimera, a mythical creature that is a hybrid of several different animals. The 33-year-old singer and model was not aware of her condition until she came across a television program documenting the extraordinary condition.

However, symptoms of Chimerism had been present in Ms. Muhl’s life since birth. When she was born, doctors noticed that Ms. Muhl appeared to have a strange birthmark, a line running down her stomach that divided the skin color into two different tones.

However, the unusual line was not a birthmark, in fact, it was a sign that Ms. Muhl was a chimera - “an organism composed of cells from different zygotes.” In medical terms, Chimerism is a condition that occurs “when two fraternal fertilized eggs fuse in the womb.” In effect, this means that Ms. Muhl subsumed her twin sister, carrying two different kinds of DNA and genetic makeup.

Aside from the physical indications, there was another important sign of Ms. Muhl’s condition. When she entered her teenage years, Ms. Muhl would regularly suffer from allergies and immunity problems, much to the confusion of doctors. When she appeared on ‘The Doctors,’ Ms. Muhl described how Chimerism affected her health, saying: “I have two different immune systems, and I have two different bloodstreams. My body treats my sister’s DNA and cells as foreign matter and wants to get rid of them, but it can’t.”

Strangely, well before she had even heard of Chimerism, Ms Muhl was deeply fascinated by the idea of twins and would often ask her mother: “Do I have a twin sister? Do I have a twin sister?”

The main reason Ms. Muhl decided to go on ‘The Doctors,’ was to gather more information about Chimerism. Fortunately, a geneticist and doctor, Brandon Colby, was able to shed some light on the mystifying and rare condition. Dr. Colby immediately pinpointed why doctors had been so baffled by her medical results, explaining that her two immune systems wreaked havoc on conventional medical tests, saying: “It’s important for Taylor throughout life to inform doctors that she has chimerism, so when they get these strange test results back they know how to quickly interpret them correctly. This may save her life.”

Dr. Colby has asked Ms. Muhl if she would be willing to undergo further testing, offering her genetic testing and analysis at no cost, telling her: “I’m going to be your doctor through the process. And we’re going to create a personalized plan that will help optimize your health throughout your life.”

After years of hiding her unusual stomach line, Ms. Muhl is finally embracing her body, saying: “I had always kept my stomach a secret, covering it up or having photographers Photoshop it out. But now I want to embrace the way I look. I want to inspire people to feel beautiful and confident with their difference.”